The document discusses various types of search and rescue (SAR) operations. It describes mountain rescue, ground SAR, combat SAR, urban SAR and air-sea rescue. It also discusses maritime SAR coordination centers and sub-centers in Malaysia that are responsible for controlling and coordinating SAR operations at sea. The roles of vessels and aircraft in maritime SAR operations from different Malaysian agencies are also outlined.

1. BY
MUHD SHAFIQ RIDZUAN BIN MOHD FADZIL

2. Search and rescue (SAR) is the search
for and provision of aid to people
who are in distress or imminent
danger

3. Canadian Forces: "Search and Rescue comprises the search
for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which
are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger.
United States Coast Guard: "The use of available resources
to assist persons or property in potential or actual distress.
United States Defense Department: A search is "an operation
normally coordinated by a Rescue Coordination Center (RCC)
or rescue sub-center, using available personnel and facilities
to locate persons in distress" and rescue is "an operation to
retrieve persons in distress, provide for their initial medical or
other needs, and deliver them to a place of safety.

4. At 1656, one of the Netherland merchant ship,
which is the Vergulde Draeck wreck at the coast
of Australia. Survivors sent for help, and in
response three separate SAR missions were
conducted, but there is nothing but failure.

5. Vergulde Draeck
The Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) was a Dutch East India
Company ship of the seventeenth century. She sailed from Texel
bound for Batavia (now Jakarta), under Pieter Albertsz and was
carrying trade goods and eight chests of silver worth 786,000
guilders/euro. On 28 April 1656 the Gilt Dragon was wrecked
just south Ledge Point, 107 km north of what is now Perth,
Western Australia.

6. Mountain rescue Combat search and rescue
Air-sea rescue
Ground search and rescue
Urban search and rescue

7. Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities
that occur in a mountainous environment, The difficult
and remote nature of the terrain in which mountain
rescue often occurs has resulted in the development of
a number of specific pieces of equipment and
techniques. Helicoptersare often used to quickly extract
casualties, and search dogs may be used to locate
them.

8. Ground search and rescue is the search for persons who are
lost or in distress on land or inland waterways. Traditionally
associated with wilderness zones, ground search and rescue
services are increasingly required in urban and suburban
areas to locate persons with Alzheimer's
disease, autism, dementia, or other conditions that lead to
wandering behaviour

9. Combat search and rescue (CSAR)
are search and rescue operations that
are carried out during war that are
within or near combat zones

10. Urban search and rescue (abbreviated as USAR, also
known as Urban SAR, or US&R in the United
States)involves the location, extrication, and initial medical
stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces.
Structural collapse is most often the cause of victims being
trapped, but victims may also be trapped in transportation
accidents, mines and collapsed trenches.

11. Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air
rescue or SAR )is the coordinated search and rescue of the
survivors of emergency water landings as well as people
who have survived the loss of their sea-going vessel. ASR
can involve a wide variety of resources
including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue
boats and ships.

12. International waters are divided into various
regions according to
the SOLAS convention. Each compartment
has its own organisation which responsible
for the compartment.

14. MARITIME SAR
The employment of available personnel and facilities in
rendering aid to person in distress arising of an incident
which happen at sea, near or on the coast which involves
lives, property and environment and originate from vessel
or craft.

15. MARITIME SAR POLICY
The Maritime SAR Policy is containes in the Merchant Shipping
Ordinance 1952 and 1960 which make it a legal obligation for
the saving of lifes, property and the enviroment within
Malaysia Maritime SAR Region of responsibility. The Safety of
Lifes at Sea Convension (SOLAS), 1974 was ratified by Malaysia
in 1983 and this ratification Malaysia is obliged to provide
Maritime SAR facilities.
By virtue that SOLAS is part of the Merchant Shipping
Ordinance, the Marine Department is entrusted to provide
Maritime SAR for all vessels and persons of all nationality
within the Malaysia SAR Region of responsibility.

16. Overall co-ordination of Maritime SAR organisation
Co-ordination with other Malaysia SAR organisation and authorities
Liason with international SAR organisations
Establishment of standards for facilities, equipment, staffing,
training operation and procedures
Financial arrangements, budget estimate, procurement and
disposition of stores and equipment

17. The SAR Team Rescue Group must:
-Meet all respective standards according to national and
INSARAG requirements.
-Have training in confined spaces, collapsed reinforced
concrete structures, high angle rope rescue and tunneling
operations, and basic training in search and medical issues.
-Have additional training in operating in adverse weather
conditions, haz mat environments, all other climactic
conditions and team safety.

18. -Breaking and breaching operations.
-Shoring operations.
-Lifting operations.
-High angle rope rescue operations.
-Tunneling operations.
-Personal protective equipment requirements.

19. The equipment stock must meet international
transportation regulations (i.e., ADR, RID, IATA(international
air transport association), etc.).

20. Assistance with Search Activities
-Prior to locating trapped victims, Rescue personnel provide
a significant search resource.
-The Rescue personnel may be used to assist the canine and
electronic search personnel with safety assessments at
collapse sites, gain access to difficult areas, conduct shoring
and bracing operations, deploy equipment, etc.

21. -These personnel may also conduct physical search
operations.
-Apart from canine and electronic search
personnel, Rescue personnel should be the only
resource used for physical search inside void areas,
as they are the most capable of identifying overall
hazards in these areas and are trained in operating
in confined spaces.

22. Rescue Strategy
Rescue operations follow the search phase and are focused on
extricating the greatest number of victims in the shortest amount of
time, prioritizing technical rescues that cannot be addressed by
local resources.
Rescue operations are conducted under the five following phases:
PHASE ONE: Assessment of the collapse area. The area is searched
for possible victims (surface and/or buried) and the evaluation of
the structure's stability and potential danger to rescue personnel is
performed. All utilities must be evaluated and controlled for safety.

23. PHASE TWO: Removal of all surface victims as quickly
and safely as possible. Extreme care must be used during
this phase to ensure that rescuers do not become
victims. Personnel should not be misled by the outward
appearance of a structure - what appears to be a settled
pile of debris could, in reality, be lacking any genuine
support and a secondary collapse could occur without
warning.

24. PHASE THREE: All voids and accessible spaces created as
a result of the collapse must be searched and explored
for live victims. An audible call out system can be used
during this phase (refer to the SAR Team Search
Guidelines). Only trained canine or specially trained
rescue personnel should be used in voids and accessible
space searches.
PHASE FOUR: Selected debris removal, using special
tools and techniques, may be necessary after locating a
victim. It may be necessary to remove only certain
obstructions that are blocking access to the victim.
Information concerning a victim's location prior to the
collapse can be helpful during the selected debris
removal phase. Information gathering on other possible
victim locations can greatly enhance the operation.

25. PHASE FIVE: General debris removal is usually conducted after all
known victims have been removed. Exceptions would be: 1) when
information is obtained that indicates the possibility of other victims
not originally accounted for and, 2) when large amounts of debris
are impairing or obstructing operations. The decision to use heavy
equipment during this phase must be given serious consideration,
especially when the possibility exists that there are still live victims
in the debris.
Rescue prioritization is based on:
-A mission assignment from the LEMA or the UN OSOCC.
-Any search intelligence/recommendations.
-The degree and difficulty of each opportunity.
-The possible end result of each opportunity.
-Any safety and security considerations.
-The capabilities and limitations of available resources (personnel,
equipment, site accessibility, etc.).

26. A rescue plan will ensure that all the Rescue team efforts are
brought to bear in a systematic and coordinated manner, utilizing
the most up-to-date intelligence about victims and buildings.
The rescue plan should include:
-Identified objectives.
-All search results.
-Any resources assigned.
-Any safety and security issues.

27. -The capabilities of assigned resources.
-The limitations of assigned resources.
-Any other support resources.
-All communications requirements.
-Implementation of the rescue plan should include:
-Personnel briefings.
-The commencement of rescue operations.
-The evaluation of operational effectiveness.
-Any plan revisions as appropriate.

28. The SAR team is composed (generically) of three
functional components as well as a management
component supported by the safety/security,
information and planning, liaison and public
information functions.
The core functional elements of the Rescue Group
are:
Management
Rescue
Safety
Medical

30. The supporting functional elements
are:
Structures engineering.
Haz mat.
Logistics.
Doctors.
Heavy lifting.
Local resources.
Interpreters.

31. -Rescue operations are conducted following the principles
of the five rescue phases.
-These phases are based on those tasks that are easily
achievable, moving toward those that are more
complicated.
-The on-site activities begin with the rescue work site set
up.
Rescue work site set up includes:
-Work site and collapse hazard zone identification.
-Operations post.
-Medical treatment area.
-Personnel staging area.

32. -Rescue equipment staging area.
-Cribbing/shoring working area.
-Entry/exit routes.
-A Rescue Squad must be staged in a state of full readiness
should an unforeseen occurrence or emergency occur.
-Once the size up is completed and the plan of action
developed, a Team briefing must be conducted:
-A simple drawing of the site features and rescue -
operation should be made that can be quickly done on a
writing pad or erasable marker board.
-In addition, safety considerations, structural concerns,
hazard identification, emergency signaling and evacuation
guidelines must be addressed at this time.

34. Each work site must have one person designated as officer-in-
charge to maintain unity of command. The officer-in-charge
has authority over all assigned personnel.
When two or more Rescue Squads are assigned to operate
together, one officer-in-charge must be assigned to be in
charge overall of the work site (this must be clearly
communicated to all personnel involved).
A work site safety officer should be assigned to all operations.
The work site safety officer is responsible for acting as a
second set of eyes and ears for the officer-in-charge, assisting
in the formulation of the rescue plan, and focusing on safety
considerations during rescue operations.

35. It is important that the officers-in-charge and safety officers are
clearly identified. (Refer to the SAR Team Identification &
Marking Guidelines.)
-The tools, equipment and supplies in the equipment stock should be
separated and organized according to their function. The set up and
organization of the equipment stock must be addressed before
significant rescue operations can be supported together with the
maintenance requirements of the rescue equipment
Once the equipment stock is organized, it is imperative that an
effective inventory and tracking process be implemented.
The limited number of specialized tools may require them to be
shared between one or more rescue sites during simultaneous
operations. It is important that everyone coordinate the sharing and
movement of these tools between the rescue sites.

36. Adequate time should be allocated at scheduled shift
exchanges for briefings and information exchange to promote
continuity of operations.
Management and supervision of local resources is of critical
importance to the overall safety and effectiveness of rescue
operations.
Operational logs and site sketches should be maintained at all
times.
Following extrication of deceased victims, the remains should
be processed as directed by the UN OSOCC and/or the
LEMA.

38. Maritime Rescue Co-Ordinating Centres (MRCC)
The MRCC is the Operation Centre established by the
Marine Department for the purpose of controlling
and co-ordinating Maritime SAR operations.
The MRCCs estiblished in Malaysia are:
MRCC PORT KLANG
MRCC LABUAN

39. Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC)
The MRSC is the Operation Centre established by
the Marine Department to control and co-ordinate
Maritime SAR operations which is small in nature
and require only the facilities available within the
region concerned. Each centre has its own area of
responsibility. The MRSC established in Malaysia
are:
MRSC PENANG
MRSC JOHOR
MRSC TERENGGANU
MRSC KUCHING
MRSC SANDAKAN

40. MARITIME SAR UNITS
Vessels and aircraft for Maritime SAR operations are provided by:
Vessels
Marine Department
Royal Malaysia Navy
Royal Malaysia Police
Port Authorities
Royal Custom and Excise
Fishery Department
Merchant Ships
Fishing Vessels
Aircraft
Royal Malaysia Air Force
Royal Malaysia Police
Royal Malaysia Navy